Paper 2, Section , E
Part II, 2009
A system of three particles of equal mass moves along the axis with denoting the coordinate of particle . There is an equilibrium configuration for which , and .
Particles 1 and 2, and particles 2 and 3, are connected by springs with spring constant that provide restoring forces when the respective particle separations deviate from their equilibrium values. In addition, particle 1 is connected to the origin by a spring with spring constant . The Lagrangian for the system is
where the generalized coordinates are and .
Write down the equations of motion. Show that the generalized coordinates can oscillate with a period , where
and find the form of the corresponding normal mode in this case.